'Do it your way': Joe Root's advice to stand-in skipper Ben Stokes for clash against West Indies

In the absence of Joe Root, stand-in England captain Ben Stokes says that the skipper has given him a piece of advice ahead of Wednesday`s clash against West Indies.

Root, who is missing the match for the birth of his second child has told Stokes to pit himself against West Indies counterpart Jason Holder.

"The best message I've received was when I got my photos done yesterday, with the blazer. Rooty just left a message on the hanger which said, 'Do it your way'," Stokes told Reuters.

However, the all-rounder says he knows he will be able to turn to Root for advice at any given point. "Because of Joe`s personal situation, we`ve been letting him deal with that and I haven`t been on him too much. But I know he`ll be at home watching and his phone will always be available if I need him," he added, according to Reuters.

The first big decision by Stokes will be to name his team along with coach Chris Silverwood. James Anderson, Jofra Archer, Stuart Broad, Chris Woakes, and Mark Wood are competing for the three pace attack spots alongside Stokes and off-spinner Dom Bess.

"It's not very often that we've been in a situation where we've got six or seven bowlers to choose from," Stokes said. "It's a real head-scratcher as somebody who`s got to choose the side but as a bigger picture, it's a great place to be in as a team.

"I feel as if we're in a position now as a test team like we were with the one-day team in 2015 and building for that World Cup. I feel as if we`re building towards the Ashes in Australia and also India," he added.

"I've been dreading it the last three days, having to deliver bad news to some lads. It`s obviously not a nice thing to have to do, but that comes with being the captain and with being in a leadership role. It's got to be done."